Welcome to PozVille PozQueers www.pozville.org --- www.pozqueers.org A community of ordinary and extraordinary HIV poz gay BI men. HIV neg poz friendly gay men and OUR poz het friends are welcomed (no bug chasers). YOU MUST BE OVER 18 YEARS OF AGE TO JOIN THIS PRIVATE NETWORK If you are offended by gay erotica or alternative lifestyles do not join. READ the Basic Terms Below FIRST BEFORE Joining Use FireFox 3.6 or IE 7 (8) Browsers for Best Results. Google Chrome 4.0 or higher works. AOL Browsers are not recommended. This is a "full profile face photo required" community. READ the Basic Terms and Guidelines in the lower right column on this page FIRST BEFORE joining. Private messaging, commenting, friend request and uploading feature restrictions for new members are removed after your profiling has been reviewed before getting upgraded to the Standard Level, usually within a few hours. Typing in codes, 2 or 3 words into a field or saying that you will do your profile later does not cut it here. Our experience over time has proven that most people who don't do profiling usually are not going to interact with or respond to other people. Members who extend their profiling and or are highly active may be upgraded to "Stellar" - this upgrade is at our moderators' discretion, based upon varying factors. Stellar members are featured and enjoy additional privileges. Former PQ Snapp Members TAKE NOTE: You will need to create a new account – your old data does not transfer and it can no longer be accessed. Have fun getting settled into our new home. Create albums, upload old and new photos, customize your profile with your own designs, move blocks around, change font colors, etc. If you have any audio or video players you can embed them into the appropriate profile fields. I'm still setting things up here and moving content from the old server. THANKS for your continued support! - dingo PozVille PozQueers is a private not for profit alternative social network created specifically for HIV poz gay men, including HIV negative gay men who are poz friendly. HIV poz het (and BI) men and women who are not blinded by others' race, sexual orientation, lifestyle, gender, nationality, opinions, age, physical appearance, beliefs and lives or are accepting of alternative lifestyles are welcomed. Harassment, intimidation, trolling, stalking, predatory and abusive behavior towards others, privately and publicly, will not be tolerated. There are NO Sales Pitches from us, and we do not allow anyone to join for the purpose of presenting or promoting any products, vacations, and private enterprises of others (or your own). We rarely have had any problems during the past 2 years. Private message the Dingo to report problems and suspected spammers. Erotica is NOT our primary focus, however, a limited amount of erotic content is permitted and featured within areas of this site, subject to the Basic Terms and Guidelines which are clearly outlined on this page (look in the right cloumn under Featured Members). The content is primarily homo erotic in scope and nature. Although the female body is appreciated within the gay community, it is not our focus, ie, erotic content outside of our main focus is subject to our removal. You can fully customize and design your profiles, create blogs, polls, get talking in groups or forums, share photos, embed videos and music, leave comments, get activity feeds, share videos, music and much more. I will enable IM chat and mp3 uploads in the future, after I have finished transferring content from the old site. In the meantime have fun setting up your profile! About PozVille PozQueers Why We Are Unique
YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS of AGE and OLDER TO JOIN THIS NETWORK. DO NOT UPLOAD PORN, FACELESS TORSO SHOTS or NUDITY AS YOUR MAIN PROFILE PHOTO.
The Terms and Guidelines within this column are upfront and clearly stated. They are designed to deter spammers, trollers, solicitors, scams, cons, escorts, flamers, and email harvesters. This helps us provide a safe fun site where HIV+ poz gay men can openly interact.
The network owner does not operate this private newtwork for profit. There are no fees charged to anyone, no ads and no sales pitches. We DO NOT allow anyone to promote and pitch their products or others commercial interests. The moderators and network owner will never ask you for personal info.
Some people on social networks like to keep moderators busy by engaging in constant testing of the boundaries of acceptable behavior or by just being ignorant of a network’s terms, even after private counseling by moderators. This increases Mod workloads unacceptably. Our volunteer moderators do not generate private warnings or messages justifying and defending our actions. Our time and energy is applied to making this site fun and interesting.
If you can't upload a clear face photo, fill out a half way decent profile, only looking for a pick up or cyber sex, or don’t like our terms - don’t join. There are hundreds of other HIV poz gay men sites you can explore.
Creating Multiple Accounts, ignorance of TOS and guidelines, spamming, soliciting, scamming and trolling are the most popular reasons for getting banned; social networks, forums and groups everywhere just hate this. Don’t create dupe accounts or play the games, you’ll just eventually be caught. If you’re the type who signs up using multiple aliases, your IP address is exactly the same. If you are spamming or soliciting on other sites and groups, you will get blocked here as well.
Signing up under a Proxy. This one’s relatively uncommon, but very much a reality on anything you’ll ever need to login to. Signing up and or logging in under the anonymity of a proxy can only mean one thing - you’re trying to hide your real IP address. So why are you attempting to cover up your real IP? Simple - you’re either trolling, spamming, scamming or have already been banned. Give it up, this won’t work either.
PozVille is a small community of people with faces and profiles. Our members are here for friendship, fun, camaraderie, and peer support. If you wish to remain in this network and really are genuine about meeting other people our expectation is that you take the time to let others know who you are, what you enjoy in life, and or anything else you might want to say about yourself WHEN YOU JOIN. Typing in just a few words or canned phrases, such as saying you're looking for friends (an ltr) or that you'll do your profile later, does not cut it here.
Although this is not a dating site, if you're looking for a LTR, it is recommended to extend your profiling after joining.
This site is dedicated to providing a safe fun community where HIV+ poz gay men can openly interact. Participation is encouraged but keeping quiet is okay since I know people have different ways of approaching new people. If you are not the forward type feel free to look around and listen for a while. It is okay to watch.
New members are granted full access AND use of all features after completing a basic profile. Membership levels are based upon how you conduct yourself awill be upgraded within a few hours.
EMAIL REGISTRATION
Register with an established email account to receive your notifications. GMAIL, AOL, or an email address you use from your ISP is preferred. Do not register using email accounts from other adult and gay networks. Registering with Yahoo and HotMail accounts is not recommended. If you do you may not receive some notifications including the verification email.
Once registration is completed and submitted you will automatically be sent an email with a link asking you to VERIFY your new account. Be sure to click the link to VERIFY your account right away. Look in your bulk mail folder for this important email from PozVille PozQueers. ADD membership@pozville.org to your approved email contact list.
Nicknames should not be vulgar, obscene or sexually suggestive. The monikers MACHOMAN DINGO and KEYSMAN may not be used as part of your nickname.
Any sexually explicit videos within your profile and community photo albums can be removed at the discretion of the moderators.
Uploading and sharing a limited amount of adult photo content is permitted ONLY within certain areas of the network. You may not create new groups for adult content or sex hookups.
After you complete your basic profile we will invite you into our main groups.
Because of Internet escort, scammer and spammer schemes, you are prohibited from making your profile private. Spammer activity continues to rise on all social networks. Spammers will ask for your email address or cell phone number. Some will give you an email address or telephone number asking you to contact them directly outside of a social network. Typically they will start doing this immediately or soon after joining a network. Social networks provide private messaging features to protect your privacy and reduce your chances of becoming victimized by spammers who sell or trade your email address to other spammers and scammers. If it does not seem right, it probably is not. Trust your instinct.
Uploading or embedding extremely sexually explicit videos & images within your profile, albums, blogs, and public areas is not permitted. Video players from porn sites often contain malware. I will remove them if I see links or if I feel you are promoting YOUR sites.
This is not a sexual hookup, video photo trading, and cyber sex network. You may not use our bandwidth for cyber video sex or to entice others into sexual hookups.
Using our social network solely for the purpose of doing business for yourself or others is totally forbidden. You may not promote your (and others) shopping networks, enterprises, commercialized adult AVS pay sites and related adult hookup photo trading groups or sites. Posting comments with links to these sites and enterprises is not allowed anywhere without our permission.
Respect each others boundaries and parameters, treat others within this community as if they were guests in your home. Harassment and abusive behavior towards others, privately and publicly, will not be tolerated. Any person who negatively mentions another member publicly will have their profile DELETED without warning.
The golden rule here is simple. While we may not always agree with each other, we should agree that it's OK to disagree. Within this community respect the rights of others to have their opinions freedom of expressions and beliefs. I have zero tolerance for racism, homophobia, heterophobia, and hate mongering.
Everyone thinks differently sensitivities and communication skills vary greatly. Do not join this community if you are easily offended by others opinions, beliefs, lifestyle or adult content. If you see something here that offends you just don't view it anymore.
Some people may object to the use of known words that are associated with hate and prejudice. Words such as queer, fag, breeder, and other words have been reclaimed for various reasons as symbols of pride.
HATEFUL CONTENT: Users may not publish material that promotes hate toward groups or individuals based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, sexual orientation and gender identity.
VIOLENT CONTENT: Users may not publish direct threats of violence against any person or group of people.
PORNOGRAPHY AND OBSCENITY: Pedophilia, Incest and Bestiality: Users may not publish written, image or video content that promotes pedophilia, incest and bestiality.
Child Pornography: I have zero-tolerance policy against child pornography, and I will terminate and report to the appropriate authorities any user who publishes or distributes child pornography.
Commercial Non Commerical Pornography: I do not allow content that exists for the primary purpose of monetizing porn content or driving traffic to any pornography site.
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER MEMBERS AND POSTING GUIDELINES
Our goals are to encourage everyone to express themselves freely within established guidelines and acceptable social behavior. These guidelines are simple and may not be perfect. Nothing ever is.
This community is made up of varying colors and lifestyles. Everyone thinks differently, sensitivities and communication skills vary greatly.
Please be considerate of everyone. Think before you post. Personal attacks on other users or authors have no place in any community AND intelligent discussions. In short, if you act with maturity and consideration for other users, you should have no problems.
We've all made our share of mistakes by the way we say or write things sometimes. People sometimes misconstrue things I post. We've all done it at one time or another.
Every now and then someone suggests that we 'censor' words. POZVILLE is a community for communication, self-expression and freedom of speech. We do not censor words. In short, if something offends you just do not view it again!
We respect our users' responsibility for the content they choose to share. It is our belief that censoring content is contrary to our policy and one that bases itself on freedom of expression and speech. There are some boundaries on the type of content that can be posted and where it can be posted within this community explained clearly on this page.
In order to uphold these values, our moderators may occasionally need to curb abuses that threaten the freedom of expression we encourage or that violate our terms. The boundaries we've defined serve to enhance our community as a whole. Again, the golden rule here is simple. While we may not always agree with each other, we should agree that it's OK to disagree. Within this community respect the rights of others to have their opinions freedom of expressions and beliefs.
In addition to the above, there are seven main ways the community moderators interacts with people participating within POZVILLE.
We deal with problems as we are made aware of them. Send a private message to the community owners to notify about a potential problem. We urge you to make us aware of issues which may go against our community participation guidelines (eg something offensive, or a personal attack on another user). When we share the responsibility for maintaining an appropriate environment, by getting users to notify us about problems, everyone benefits.
We will, when necessary, remove some postings or comments from activity feeds, profiles, forums, groups, photos and blog posts. If a contribution to POZVILLE is perceived as breaching the community guidelines, then it or that member will be moderated. We hope this doesn't seem heavy-handed, and to be honest we don't like doing it, but we believe it is the best way to keep the tone of POZVILLE right for the vast majority of the people who visit.
When embedding audio and video players into forums, blogs, and comments ALWAYS DISABLE the AutoPlay function.
When only part of a post or comment is causing an issue, we will very occasionally remove the troublesome chunk while leaving the rest of the comment or post intact. We will never edit a post to change the meaning, spelling, or anything else intended by the user. We will only do this if removing the whole comment would seem heavy-handed, and when we do, the moderator will leave a marker to show that something has been removed.
Sometimes, when a comment or post is removed, it is necessary to delete subsequent messages which refer to explicitly or quote from the original (deleted) comment, in order to preserve some notion of conversational thread. This may also happen because a later comment quotes directly the problematic bits of the original comment, which just perpetuates the problem.
When a comment or forum discussion gets extremely long, a moderator may leave a message in the thread and suggest that the conversation be restarted elsewhere where possible. This is because long threads slow the system down for everyone. We may also do this when conversations stray wildly off-track. Shortly after the posted message, the thread may be closed and or deleted. Long discussions or messages will be removed at the editor's discretion.
We will remove any posts that are obviously commercial or otherwise spam-like. Our aim is that PozVille should provide a space for people to interact with our content and each other, and we frown on commercial entities passing themselves off as individuals and push their products.
When a GROUP discussion gets extremely long, a moderator may leave a message in the thread and suggest that the conversation be restarted elsewhere (into a forum) where possible. Our forums are permanent and we archive some of our more lively and interesting groups threads in forums for future discussions. We will move the entire thread intact into a forum unedited and attribute your posts to you when we do.
Keep it relevant. The vast majority of conversations may relate to a specific blog post or topic. We know that some conversations can be wide-ranging, but if you post something which is completely unrelated to the original topic then it may be removed, in order to keep the thread on track.
Repeated postings or double postings are likely to get deleted if we see too many coming from one person. Do not double post or cross post into forums. Do not post empty or useless responses, such as just "lol" or "cool." Post responses when you have something to contribute.
And remember - Text isn't always a great medium for conversation. Remember that tone of voice - sarcasm, humour and so on - doesn't always come across when using words on a screen. Be aware that you may be misunderstood, so try to be clear about what you are saying, and expect that people may understand your contribution differently than you intended.
Participants who seriously, persistently or willfully ignore the community standards, participation guidelines or terms and conditions will have their membership removed. This is not an action that we take lightly, or arbitrarily. However, we are aiming to create and maintain an online experience in line with POZVILLE values, and we reserve the right to make decisions which we feel support that.
Moderation is more than just dealing with problems. Sometimes we'll join a comment thread or talk board topic to help focus (or refocus) the discussion, or to get people talking.
In short, our overarching aim is never to curtail conversation, but to create and maintain a pleasant and welcoming environment for everyone.
This is the end of the Basic Terms and Guidelines. Other legal terms and the legal disclaimer can be viewed below the Additional Info area in this column.
ADDITIONAL INFO
PozVille PozQueers is an affinity network of HIV positive gay men and their HIV negative friends. An affinity network is a group of people who have an affinity for each other, often sharing specific interest(s) or ideals, know each others strengths and weaknesses, support each other, and or sometimes campaign or work together.
PozVille PozQueers was not created to be a sex hookup site. You will not find sexual hookup groups here. What you will discover here are some really cool guys freely expressing what they feel and who they are.
Beginning in 2010 members who fail to log in after 90 days will have their accounts purged. This new policy reduces the frustrations and wasted time associated with abandoned profiles, which are attributed to email addresses no longer in use by their owners. It is recommended that you LOG IN once a month. This lets us and others know you are still active. Update your registered email address if you make a change to or no longer use the original email address you registered with. If your notifications bounce we will block your access.
PozVille PozQueers community for HIV+ poz gay men is hosted on a private dedicated server. We do not engage in the practice of selling community branded merchandise, asking for donations, or charge fees for upgrades and use of extra features.
Our goals are to share, connect and empower ourselves with other HIV positive poz gay men who are seeking new friends, experiences, community and just plain fun.
In the spirit of empowering others within this community we may republish your best comments or images throughout other areas of the community to reach a broader audience.
Our community is slightly different, a bit more unique than most in many ways. There is a little something for just about everyone here.
You will find some basics on wellness, relationships, spirituality, hiv, and more. Visual arts, pets, video, music, scifi, fantasy, photos, humor, literature, national issues and politics are the spokes in our wheels.
If you are experiencing an online slump here or on other sites, consider sprucing up your profile and albums. Upload clear photos. Avoid dark sunglasses, strange lighting and awkward poses. Photos of yourself doing something or of your pets, places and stuff you enjoy will usually get the attention of other men.
HAVE FUN with YOUR PROFILE.
Let yourself shine. Avoid doing a shopping list of personality traits and physical attributes that you want from others. The optional profiling text inputs are there for you to use. The more info you provide, the more likely someone will find something in common with you. You can design you profile with skins, move the blocks, embed up to 3 video players and 1 music player without affecting the performance of your page. We reserve the right to remove any widgets and apps that affect the performance anywhere within this network.
Audio Video Resources
For audio players and music resources PLAYLIST is strongly recommended. If you wish to upload your own music and create additional slideshows use MyFabrik. You can find almost anything on YouTube these days but if you want to embed some really cool and original videos onto your profile, blogs and photo comments, check out DailyMotion and Vimeo.
OTHER TERMS and LEGAL DISCLAIMER
By joining PozVille for HIV poz gay men you also agree to the following:
1) I am an adult at least 18 years of age and have the legal right to view, possess and receive what may be deemed in the location from which I am accessing this list site.
2) I am not accessing this list and or site from a location where what may be deemed sexual material is forbidden by law. I understand the laws of the location from which I am accessing this site and I assume all liability if I violate such laws by entering this site.
3) I will not redistribute other members personal info and images (for profit, without their permission or to out and harm others) to anyone anywhere, including but not limited to minors.
4) I will not share material from this list or site with any person who is under the applicable legal age to view and possess what may be deemed sexual material, or any adult who may find this material personally offensive.
5) I am not accessing this list and or site for the purpose of attempting to obtain evidence for the prosecution of any individual or legal entity or for the purpose of entrapment or use it in a manner against the site operator, list owner, list moderator, list members or anybody else.
6) I will not participate in what is deemed as racism or homophobia activities within PozVille. Basically this means users may not publish material that promotes hate toward groups based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, sexual orientation gender identity and direct threats of violence against any person or group of people. This includes engaging into any activity which is illegal by state and federal laws of the US and Canada, or the country in which you reside in.
7) By logging on and subscribing to this service I release and discharge the providers, owners and creators and other members of this list from any and all liability, which might arise.
8) I fully understand that any ignorance or violation of POZVILLE terms of service may result in my account being permanently blocked from this community.
POZVILLE Terms and Guidelines are clearly outlined on this page. We reserve the right to remove anyone. If your access is blocked by us or you leave , any data image blogs photos you post are erased.
9) By joining this network you acknowledge reading the terms posted on this page. By joining you agree that you fully understand these terms.
POZVILLE claims no credit for images articles and other content presented by members on this site unless otherwise noted. Our moderators acknowledge most sources of information and provide a link to those sources.
POZVILLE is in no way responsible for, or has control of, the content of any external web site links. Information on this site may contain errors or inaccuracies. The proprietors of this site and network do not make warranty as to the correctness or reliability of the site content.
18 U.S.C. Section 2257 Record Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement
Records required pursuant to United States Code, Title 18, Section 2257 are kept by the Custodian of Records of each production studio. The owners and operators of this Website are not the primary producer (as that term is defined in 18 USC section 2257) of any of the visual content contained in this Website.
"queer: historically, the word "queer" has been used as a derogatory term, a word that demeaned and disrespected the GLBTQ community. More recently, GLBTQ academics and activists have sought to reclaim the word and "reoccupy" its meaning, turning it into a vehicle of pride, resistance, and coalition-building. So phrases like "queer studies," "queer community," and "queer theory" are common parlance. But "queer" hasn't entirely lost its derogatory power, so it should be used with care and sensitivity." Quoted from OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY GLBTQ DEFINITIONS.
The name pozqueers was reclaimed for our Pride. We refuse to be disempowered by those who continue to foster & harbor prejudice towards HIV positive poz gay men. There is no shame in being HIV positive.
The word We refers to our moderators and members, the word I refers to Jim Thurman aka the dingo. We are hiv positive poz gay men, who have a desire in wanting to make a difference, for other HIV positive poz gay men who might be looking for change. We give our time and energy and do not ask anyone for money or solicit for donations. We do what we do because we enjoy doing it, and we have fun doing it.
I am indebted and grateful to many of our members who have contributed their efforts, energies, suggestions, including their patience support and understanding during the recent makeovers within areas of this site. And to those who stuck it out during the Snapp transition. I am currently revamping and retooling many areas of this site to make it easier to navigate and find things. Learning HTML CSS video editing skills sometimes is challenging as I live with health issues that have affected my multi tasking comprehension functions.
POZQUEERS continues to evolve from new ideas from members input since the community began back in October 2007 on the Snapp Network. We are currently migrating our existing membership from the older network onto this new private server.
We embrace all HIV poz men who identify as being gay, BI, queer, m4m or transgendered. HIV poz hetero men and hiv poz women who are gay friendly are welcomed.
Our primary goal is to help HIV poz gay men make new friends, share information and maybe even connect those of you who are looking for someone special. HIV NEG gay men who are not blinded by ignorance, been partnered or openly dated hiv poz men, or wish to have a better understanding of hiv poz gay men, are also welcomed into our community. It needs to be said that we do not allow bug chasing trollers who have nothing better to do than troll hiv poz gay men networks.
"The best part of any journey are the people we meet along the way."
Our community is made up of varying colors and lifestyles. I come from the old guard, respecting others rights to their opinions, freedom of expression & beliefs providing they are causing no deliberate harm to others. Doing so I believe serves to bond and empower us, bringing us all to a better understanding and acceptance of others.
Our goals are to encourage everyone to express themselves freely within established guidelines and acceptable social behaviour. Those guidelines are simple and may not be perfect. Nothing ever is. Everyone thinks differently and our sensitivities vary greatly. Please be considerate of everyone. Think before you post.
We respect our users' responsibility for the content they choose to share. It is our belief that censoring content is contrary to our policy and one that bases itself on freedom of expression and speech.
In order to uphold these values, our moderators may occasionally need to curb abuses that threaten the freedom of expression we encourage or that violate our terms. The boundaries we've defined above serve to enhance our community as a whole.
The golden rule here is simple. While we may not always agree with each other, we should agree that it's OK to disagree. Within this community respect the rights of others to have their opinions freedom of expressions and beliefs. If something offends you just do not view it again.
COMMUNITY
We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been, a place half remembered and half envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free. --- Starhawke
There were several reasons I embarked upon starting a community for HIV poz gay men. At the top of the list were the proliferation of sites and groups cluttered with spamming, webcam live junkies, hot jocks, wanna hookup tonight, hot men now online, and site owners whose aim is solely to harvest email lists. There are a few good HIV+ gay men sites but most are limiting in features and scope. Some give you free access and others use the word free as a baiting tactic. Quickly you find your email box getting blasted with sales pitches spam and everything else you do not want. You will not get that from us.
POZQUEERS POZVILLE was also conceived as an alternative for those who are tired of seeing faceless & informationless profiles on other HIV+ gay men networks and groups. While we understand some have their reasons for not uploading a photo of themselves, we grew weary of wasting time looking at others who constantly hit us up but had nothing in their own profiles. The frustrations and downsides some have experienced also include rejection due to non conformity, speaking out, thinking differently than the mainstream, the DDF, healthy, - UB2s and other ugliness doled out towards hiv poz gay men, and being commercially exploited by email harvesters because of our HIV status. So I started this community for hiv+ poz gay men who wanted something different and who may need the empowerment from others.
Many of us have at some time in our Life needed that empowerment and received from it by what we learned or saw from others. And there still are HIV+ gay men who continue to isolate themselves for varying reasons. Those of us who have been there can relate.
The power of words, images, music and video we love to see and hear also does much for our spirits. They can be used as expressions of WHO we are, what we love.
Sharing of ourselves helps empower other HIV+ poz gay men living with HIV, and that sharing serves to empower us as well, possibly helping us understand ourselves and others. In doing so we may be able to make a positive difference helping other HIV+ poz gay men who either are still living in isolation or shame, or just may need a boost and new perspective on Life.
--- Why is it so hard to find someone in a group of so many men to get to know and maybe have a relationship with and get together. Seems like everyone does not have a good profile or something is wrong in their lives. I am looking and hoping someday. --- Taken from a posted comment on a Yahoo hiv poz gay men group. It is not the first time I have seen this question and similar comments like this posted on the Internet.
Maybe so then again maybe not. We all need a place at times to vent and air our frustrations where we can seek peer support. And if your expectations are genuine then you should complete your profile before making remarks that others do not have a good profile.
Many HIV+ poz gay men often find it frustrating when searching the Internet for a mate. Most HIV+ gay men do not always take advantage of the new technology that we now have before us. Just putting up a photo with very little profiling or nothing at all and expecting others to respond to you no longer works. The interactive applications and features now available are tools that can work for you only if you use them and are willing to take a few minutes to complete a profile. If you are looking for a partner, small hiv+ poz gay men social communities such as this one and others like it are good places to look. Going off the beaten path has its advantages.
Regardless of where you look you have to put yourself out there by actively participating in local events and causes. On the Internet getting involved in discussions is a good start. Sharing your experiences, feelings, opinions and thoughts with others. Then those who have like interests or thoughts, and those who may disagree with you, will notice you. Either way a door opens to a potential possibility of a new friendship or intimate relationship.
Let's get back to knowing each other a bit more. For me this is what community is about. With this said I welcome you to join us.
Jim Thurman aka the dingo
Featured Forums
HIV positive gay men often find it frustrating when searching the Internet for a mate. Cracking the profile codes we see on online sites can be overwhelming to some but they don't have to be. Most HIV positive gay men do not always take advantage of the new technology that we now have before us. The interactive applications and features are tools that can work for you only if you use them and are willing to share of yourself. How do you separate the HIV poz gay men who say they want a commitment from those who truly want one? For starters, there probably won't be anything strongly sexual mentioned in their profile. He may even go so far as to say friends first, relationship later to ward off the guys who are just looking for action. And since he's probably not spending his days sleeping off last night's outing, he'll probably list lots of hobbies or activities he enjoys. Read More Here
If you want to better manage your own body language, you need to think about every aspect of your day and how you behave. While you might think you are friendly person, if you go straight to your office and avoid eye contact with anyone, it can send the wrong signals to your co-workers. On the flip side, how can you use the body language of others to your advantage? Read More Here
Recently on another HIV positive gay men Internet social site, an older HIV positive gay man posted a comment that caught my eye. Gay men can be so mean to me and hateful to each other. I hate being gay been in three long term gay relationships and hated all of it and I was never faithful. I hate gay bars but find myself in them all the time. That is how I got HIV. I no longer like the gay culture. I am not self loathing because I really do love myself. I am not sure what I should do anymore. Maybe I should go straight. Read Be Willing to Fall Down
HIV positive gay men are getting conned and scammed every single day using Internet poz gay men dating sites. The telephone scammers now use the Internet because it has become easier for them to get your personal information. In the old days we could just hang up on them. These days they can grab information from your computer in seconds. Disconnecting is no longer an option either since most viral software stays on your hard drive waiting for you to turn on the computer. Dating Scams Frauds
One of the most powerful ways to connect with others and help solve social problems is to reach out to one person, commit one act of kindness, offer the best we have to others who need it, and then watch the giving gather steam. Volunteering is an activity where you also can meet many new people and develop fresh ideas for yourself. When you volunteer your time, you usually get more out of it for yourself rather than the actual cause. Making a Difference
When Dingo asked me to write about what is unique and different about this community for HIV poz gay men, I was caught off guard, because who would know better than the Dingo Man himself? But then, if we as users do not see it as unique and different, then maybe we are missing something. And by the way, he asked me to be objective and not write it as his partner, so I will. Of course, there are many technological reasons that make it unique, heaven knows it is probably the most complex to learn all of its features than other systems, but once we learn how to use it, the complex technology adds to its uniqueness. For example, how many places can you attach a video in PozQueers? Profiles, Photos, comments, activity feeds, forums, and blogs are places one can use this feature. You can customize your own page with your own art work if you so desire, not encumbered by preset artwork choices and structure. I could go on, but you get the point. The most striking difference of uniqueness from other sites, is that it encourages individual expression. Because of the moderation, it is the norm to express your internal self, meaning we feel safe to talk about what we do, express our opinions, criticize others opinions, and give advice. Other sites that lack the moderation usually degenerate (in my opinion) to pictures and poses and sexual preferences mainly because it is what everyone does in search of a hook up. Don not get me wrong, I am guilty of a few hook ups in my past, and I like looking at the beauty of the male body in all of its parts, but if we are really serious about forming relationships and friendships, we have to see beyond or through the cock and ass to get there. At PozQueers, there are places for the C and A shots, but the profile is geared more to OUR uniqueness as individuals, not OUR sameness or differences of human form and sexual action. In other words, we are not different when it comes to the exterior other than size, but we are very different when it comes to our personalities and interests in terms of what we do with our time and our minds. Keith (aka KeysMan)
September 20, 2009
Two years ago I embarked upon creating a new community for HIV+ positive poz gay men. After years of being on several HIV+ positive poz gay men Yahoo groups and other HIV+ positive poz gay men networks that were very limiting in scope of features, sometimes poorly moderated and designed, seeing the same old tired attention grabbing posts, faceless empty profiles who always wanted to IM chat (and ask for photos), constantly being bombarded with sales pitches, receiving countless spam messages into my email box, and asked for money or donations to upgrade or to help “offset operating costs“ for a site that was already full of advertising (or ad supported), I said to myself that if I was frustrated, others probably were too.
I wanted more substance and quality, more fun, and a homepage that would allow me to express more of myself through music, video, images and customized boxes. A network of faces and profiles primarily for hiv poz men with profiling designed to connect me with others who shared similar interests, and maybe somewhere in the future, a partner.
That was back during the summer of 2007, right after I left Texas for Georgia, fresh off the dialysis machine, no longer able to ride motorcycles – still in recovery from bad health – and accepting the realization at that point in my Life I probably might not find my soul mate. Read More Here
